A. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to medical aids for bed-ridden patients, and, more particularly, to an apparatus to transfer a patient between beds.
B. Description of the Related Art
Moving patients from one bed to another, moving them from a gurney to a bed and pulling patients up in their beds are common activities in all hospitals. A number of inventions have attempted to solve the problem of performing these functions simply, safely and easily by one hospital attendant without hurting either the patient or the attendant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,557 discloses a patient transfer apparatus that includes a substantially rigid, planar board with a stop or cleat that is used to prevent slippage as the board is used to move a patient up an incline to a second bed of a different height than the first. The stop or cleat is described as a plurality of posts aligned in a linear fashion along the length of the board and attached preferrably by spin-welding. The present invention does not use a plurality of posts, but rather an anchor fin, and has the advantage that once the anchor fin is deployed in a perpendicular position to the plane of the board, it provides a greater anchor to prevent the sliding of the board onto the second bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,799 discloses a plurality of sled boards for tranferring a patient from one bed to another, but each uses a transverse fin that is molded or formed from the sled board in a fixed position. The present invention has a hinge that allows the transverse fin to fold flat for more compact storage. Further, a single board is used for the patient transfer rather than a plurality.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,079 discloses a plastic slab with a plurality of handholes for lifting a patient. This device is not used for direct lifting, although it may be used as an inclined plane for pulling a patient up in his bed after he has slid down.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,978 discloses a bridging panel that uses an anti-skid means of plastic or equivalent material with roughed, milled, knurled or otherwise finished surface that depresses against the upper surface of the bed or other soft patient support surface. The current device does not depress or resist skidding by friction on the top surface, but rather by providing an anchor fin that contacts the side of the receiving bed (or other patient support surface).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,430 discloses a patient self transporter for the assistance of a patient in moving from a bed to a chair or the like. The device consists generally of a rigid planar surface structure with two down hanging members that fit between the two surfaces. In the present device, the anchor fin is hinged to fold one way so that it will be relatively flat when being carried or stored. In '430, the down hanging members are rigidly attached.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,157,889 discloses a device for transforming two twin beds into one bed comprising a strip of flexible material with a central rib that fits in the gap between the beds. The flexible structure of the device in '889 would not work as well in moving patients between two hospital beds, where the rigid structure of the present device provides more support and a more resistance-free means of transport.